The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Project made by Ava Dalton
Reason for Why I Chose This Book-
I chose to read this book because a lot of my friends have read it and they all strongly recommended it, so I thought I would give it a shot. I thought it looked pretty interesting and I liked how the book was formatted. This book is formatted in the form of letters and it makes it way easier to read, at least for me it did. I liked how it was unique and different and I am glad that I chose this book.
Genre:
The book I chose is a young adult fiction book or an epistolary novel. This book falls into these genres because it deals with problems that young adults and teenagers face while trying to grow up and fit in. It is a fiction novel instead of a non-fiction novel because it tells a story that is not exactly true, but it is probably true somewhere in the world because so many teenagers can relate to Stephen Chobosky's novel. An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The Perks of Being A Wallflower fits into an epistolary novel because the book is written in a series of notes to someone that we do not the name of. This novel is very clean and precise and it does not have very many genres to it because of that reason. For, this book stays mostly on the same topic throughout the book and does not have a huge dramatic climax and turning point, it is really just describing the struggle in finding out the real you and trying to fit in. This in fact is very soothing and it gives your mind a break off of the apocalyptic and vampire drama that most books have these days, it gives you a feel of whats to come and it gives some advice if you read between the lines. If I could make up my own genre for this novel, it would be a teenager's life struggle novel. A teenager's life struggle novel's definition is a novel that focuses on some problems and true feelings that teenagers go through.
Summary-
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is in the form of a collection of letters written by the protagonist, Charlie, over a one year period - his first year of High School. The recipient of the letters or the person Charlie is writing to is never mentioned, but it is applied to that the person on the Charlie is writing to is older, wiser and more mature than Charlie. This story touches on a confusing time in any young adults life, with situations which resemble conversations many young adults may have had, or do have in their lives. The connection between Charlie and the reader becomes so strong that the reader soon believes they are the ones that Charlie is writing to, which happened to me. Charlie also makes it clear in his first letter that he does not want the recipient to know who he is, "Dear friend, I am writing to you because she said you listen and understand, and didn't try to sleep with that person at that party" (pg.1). He urges the recipient of these letters not to try to discover who their mutual acquaintance is or who Charlie is, and states that he will also be changing the names of all of the people in his book to make himself as anonymous as possible. This novel is a classic coming of age story. Charlie is easy to relate to for most youths for several reasons; he is experiencing grief from severe loss, starting his first year in high school, is struggling to find his place in the world, and he is very open about what he is dealing with his feelings. Charlie is somewhat of an outsider, or as the title says, a wallflower which is a smart, quiet kid who starts out with no friends and winds up in a bit of a rough crowd that introduces him to all of these new experiences. Charlie deals with issues at home, including seeing his sister being a victim of domestic abuse by her boyfriend, and experiencing the grief of his best friend Michael committing suicide. This novel is very different because of the style in which the book is written allows it to speak to all types of teenagers, regardless of whether or not they have experienced many of the sorts of things Charlie is experiencing. Thus, the journey becomes familiar and so easy to relate to, the reader begins to feel as if they were the ones the letters were written to. This book really takes the reader on a journey and I am so happy to have read this wonderful book and to see what some teenagers are going through throughout this time in their life.
Characters:
Charlie-
Charlie is the protagonist in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, he is also the main character. Charlie exposes his story through letters sent to an unknown “friend”. He explains his fears, problems, secrets and joys to this stranger. Charlie is a high school freshman from Western Pennsylvania that is suffering through the aftermath of his best friend’s suicide and the death of his favorite aunt all aside from being a "wallflower". Struggling with friendship and family insecurities, a group of high school seniors, Sam, Patrick, Brad and Mary Elizabeth, understand his struggle and decide to become friends with this "wallflower" and they decide to show him the perks of being one, hence the name. His new friends expose him to a new world of drugs, sexuality, love, parties, relationships, death, friendship, lies and culpability. Throughout the novel, Charlie develops from an innocent ‘wallflower’ that lived in books to an adventurous, befriended high school freshman that learns that life needs to be lived not watched. Charlie then learns how to enjoy and find the perks in being a wallflower.
Sam-
Sam is a high school senior who becomes friends with Charlie at their school’s football game. She is Patrick’s stepsister and is one of the main influences on Charlie’s life. She grew up with an abusive relative who raped her and from then on she gained more and more respect for herself and learned the true meaning of deception and the process of taking-advantage-of someone. She says at the end of the novel, “I’m going to do what I want to do. I’m going to be who I really am. I’m going to figure out what that is.” Sam is a very intelligent, affable, motivated, emotional, strong-minded girl who knows what she wants and what is right. When Charlie admits to having a crush on her, she sets him straight by letting him know that they will not end up together. She gets involved in her fair share of relationships throughout the story, and ultimately teaches Charlie the true meaning of love. With the help of her friends, she introduces smoking, parties, drugs, sexuality, kisses, friendships and relationships to Charlie. Sam is one of the characters that provide Charlie with the knowledge that made him loose his innocence. Sam helps Charlie realize that his Aunt Helen molested him before she died. Through Charlie's relationship with Sam, he was subconsciously realizing and remembering what his Aunt did to him. As a result, Charlie becomes mentally unstable at the end of the novel, and is rushed into a hospital.
Patrick -
Patrick, also known as Pat, also known as Nothing, is Sam’s stepbrother. Patrick is openly gay, and is in a secret relationship with Brad, the high school’s football quarterback. Like Sam, Patrick is also a senior in high school. Patrick experiences the constant ridicule at school about being gay, but due to his mature, carefree personality, he does not take it personally; especially when Brad is the one insulting him. Patrick is a very artistic person as well, he listens to music to get away or escape from reality. Aside from exposing Charlie to a new way of life, he exposed him to new music.
Themes-
Friendship - Charlie has been in some very dark, depressing times and it is very clear that he would have never made it out of this state of sadness without his friends. But, some people could say that he wouldn't have gotten to that state of sadness without his friends either. That is why friendship is double sided and you can't live with it and you can't live without it. Most of Charlie's friends could say the same about him too though, Charlie is not always there for everyone but when he is there, it sure is a nice addition.
Drugs and Alcohol- Drugs and alcohol have a very big part in this book. Charlie is faced with some major decisions on if he should do them to fit in or to not do them and see what happens. Charlie is not very big on watching TV so he never really got the whole "say no" lecture and knowledge. So, in order to fit in, he does what his friends tell him to do and he really doesn't have an input on what he does. Peer pressure plays a big role on Charlie, he just does not really know it.
Love- There is a lot of love reference in this book, sexually and mentally. The main theme of love comes from Charlie's crush on Sam. Once Sam sets Charlie straight by telling him to move on, she helps him have a basic understanding of what love even is. This basically carries on throughout the book and Charlie gains a lot of knowledge about good love and bad love.
Conflicts-
The major conflict in this book is when Charlie realizes that he doesn't know what he is doing in life and he now doesn't have any friends because his best friend killed himself. He is in a state of confusion and depression and he needs help and he will do anything to get there. When he meets Sam and Patrick, they teach Charlie that it is okay to be different and you just have to go and learn to live with things that have already happened. They teach Charlie to be more laid back and to understand how amazing life is if you know how to live it. They teach Charlie the perks of being a wallflower. This novel mainly focuses on Charlie trying to find himself and to find who he really is. Although Charlie has been through some rough times, he figures out what is wrong and what is right. It takes Charlie a while to realize who he truly is and what he is going to do with himself because he is still in a state of shock and confusion after Michael's suicide and his realization of him not having anybody to go to. Many teenagers face this problem of not fitting in and that is why this book is so popular and touches many people and finally people know what new and different people feel when they have no one to go to and that there is always hope in finding yourself and who you truly are.
New Words:
1. Corpulent: (adj.) fat, obese
(The nice thing was my Aunt Helen was never on a diet. And my Aunt Helen was corpulent.) pg.16
2. Coax: (v.) to persuade someone to do something
(They bang on the door for a few minutes and almost coax my great aunt out.) pg. 57
3. Luminaria: (n.) christmas lanterns that are put up to celebrate the holidays
(Then we went outside to put up luminary.) pg. 80
4: Nostalgic: (n.) homesickness
(They spent the rest of the afternoon playing video games like Donkey Kong and feeling nostalgic, which as a general statement, I found sad and sweet.) pg. 81
5: Jaded: (n.) tired, bored
(The kid is "jaded") pg. 105
Symbol:
This picture that I drew relates to this novel because it shows the difference between average people and unique people. The black and white people that I drew with very plain expressions are the average people and the people that follow everyone else and they are not original people, all they do is follow. Charlie, however, the one in the middle, is going a different way then everybody else. Charlie, the unique person, has found himself and who he is because he is unique and he not only doesn't follow anyone else, he does what he wants to do and he follows his own goals. As you can see, in the picture Charlie looks very content because he has found himself and he knows who Charlie is and what Charlie is going to become. Charlie has found the perks in being a wallflower.
Similar Books:
Some books that I found that are similar to this book was To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I thought that these books were pretty similar because they both have some very different characters and they both are about life and basic ideas of what life is. What I liked about these books were that you learn that you can be happy in whatever situation you are put in if you know how to be. Another book that I thought was pretty similar was Life as We Knew It by Susan Pfeffer. I thought that these books were pretty similar because they both are epistolary novels. They also both talk about some teenage problems that many teenagers all over the world can relate to and even teenagers that never had that happen to them, they can still relate. That is why I love these types of books because you can still relate to them even though you have never been in a situation like some of these stories, but you can still relate and feel like you were there to experience it. The last book that I thought was very similar to this one was this book names Eggs by Jerry Spinelli. I think these two books relate because they both are about social interactions and about social life. There are not very many books that can relate to The Perks of Being a Wallflower because it is so different, yet so simple. I don't think there is a book out there that covers so much about teenage life and things teenagers have to go through.
The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Project made by Ava Dalton
Reason for Why I Chose This Book-
I chose to read this book because a lot of my friends have read it and they all strongly recommended it, so I thought I would give it a shot. I thought it looked pretty interesting and I liked how the book was formatted. This book is formatted in the form of letters and it makes it way easier to read, at least for me it did. I liked how it was unique and different and I am glad that I chose this book.
Genre:
The book I chose is a young adult fiction book or an epistolary novel. This book falls into these genres because it deals with problems that young adults and teenagers face while trying to grow up and fit in. It is a fiction novel instead of a non-fiction novel because it tells a story that is not exactly true, but it is probably true somewhere in the world because so many teenagers can relate to Stephen Chobosky's novel. An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The Perks of Being A Wallflower fits into an epistolary novel because the book is written in a series of notes to someone that we do not the name of. This novel is very clean and precise and it does not have very many genres to it because of that reason. For, this book stays mostly on the same topic throughout the book and does not have a huge dramatic climax and turning point, it is really just describing the struggle in finding out the real you and trying to fit in. This in fact is very soothing and it gives your mind a break off of the apocalyptic and vampire drama that most books have these days, it gives you a feel of whats to come and it gives some advice if you read between the lines. If I could make up my own genre for this novel, it would be a teenager's life struggle novel. A teenager's life struggle novel's definition is a novel that focuses on some problems and true feelings that teenagers go through.
Summary-
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is in the form of a collection of letters written by the protagonist, Charlie, over a one year period - his first year of High School. The recipient of the letters or the person Charlie is writing to is never mentioned, but it is applied to that the person on the Charlie is writing to is older, wiser and more mature than Charlie. This story touches on a confusing time in any young adults life, with situations which resemble conversations many young adults may have had, or do have in their lives. The connection between Charlie and the reader becomes so strong that the reader soon believes they are the ones that Charlie is writing to, which happened to me. Charlie also makes it clear in his first letter that he does not want the recipient to know who he is, "Dear friend, I am writing to you because she said you listen and understand, and didn't try to sleep with that person at that party" (pg.1). He urges the recipient of these letters not to try to discover who their mutual acquaintance is or who Charlie is, and states that he will also be changing the names of all of the people in his book to make himself as anonymous as possible. This novel is a classic coming of age story. Charlie is easy to relate to for most youths for several reasons; he is experiencing grief from severe loss, starting his first year in high school, is struggling to find his place in the world, and he is very open about what he is dealing with his feelings. Charlie is somewhat of an outsider, or as the title says, a wallflower which is a smart, quiet kid who starts out with no friends and winds up in a bit of a rough crowd that introduces him to all of these new experiences. Charlie deals with issues at home, including seeing his sister being a victim of domestic abuse by her boyfriend, and experiencing the grief of his best friend Michael committing suicide. This novel is very different because of the style in which the book is written allows it to speak to all types of teenagers, regardless of whether or not they have experienced many of the sorts of things Charlie is experiencing. Thus, the journey becomes familiar and so easy to relate to, the reader begins to feel as if they were the ones the letters were written to. This book really takes the reader on a journey and I am so happy to have read this wonderful book and to see what some teenagers are going through throughout this time in their life.
Characters:
Charlie-
Charlie is the protagonist in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, he is also the main character. Charlie exposes his story through letters sent to an unknown “friend”. He explains his fears, problems, secrets and joys to this stranger. Charlie is a high school freshman from Western Pennsylvania that is suffering through the aftermath of his best friend’s suicide and the death of his favorite aunt all aside from being a "wallflower". Struggling with friendship and family insecurities, a group of high school seniors, Sam, Patrick, Brad and Mary Elizabeth, understand his struggle and decide to become friends with this "wallflower" and they decide to show him the perks of being one, hence the name. His new friends expose him to a new world of drugs, sexuality, love, parties, relationships, death, friendship, lies and culpability. Throughout the novel, Charlie develops from an innocent ‘wallflower’ that lived in books to an adventurous, befriended high school freshman that learns that life needs to be lived not watched. Charlie then learns how to enjoy and find the perks in being a wallflower.
Sam-
Sam is a high school senior who becomes friends with Charlie at their school’s football game. She is Patrick’s stepsister and is one of the main influences on Charlie’s life. She grew up with an abusive relative who raped her and from then on she gained more and more respect for herself and learned the true meaning of deception and the process of taking-advantage-of someone. She says at the end of the novel, “I’m going to do what I want to do. I’m going to be who I really am. I’m going to figure out what that is.” Sam is a very intelligent, affable, motivated, emotional, strong-minded girl who knows what she wants and what is right. When Charlie admits to having a crush on her, she sets him straight by letting him know that they will not end up together. She gets involved in her fair share of relationships throughout the story, and ultimately teaches Charlie the true meaning of love. With the help of her friends, she introduces smoking, parties, drugs, sexuality, kisses, friendships and relationships to Charlie. Sam is one of the characters that provide Charlie with the knowledge that made him loose his innocence. Sam helps Charlie realize that his Aunt Helen molested him before she died. Through Charlie's relationship with Sam, he was subconsciously realizing and remembering what his Aunt did to him. As a result, Charlie becomes mentally unstable at the end of the novel, and is rushed into a hospital.
Patrick -
Patrick, also known as Pat, also known as Nothing, is Sam’s stepbrother. Patrick is openly gay, and is in a secret relationship with Brad, the high school’s football quarterback. Like Sam, Patrick is also a senior in high school. Patrick experiences the constant ridicule at school about being gay, but due to his mature, carefree personality, he does not take it personally; especially when Brad is the one insulting him. Patrick is a very artistic person as well, he listens to music to get away or escape from reality. Aside from exposing Charlie to a new way of life, he exposed him to new music.
Themes-
Friendship - Charlie has been in some very dark, depressing times and it is very clear that he would have never made it out of this state of sadness without his friends. But, some people could say that he wouldn't have gotten to that state of sadness without his friends either. That is why friendship is double sided and you can't live with it and you can't live without it. Most of Charlie's friends could say the same about him too though, Charlie is not always there for everyone but when he is there, it sure is a nice addition.
Drugs and Alcohol- Drugs and alcohol have a very big part in this book. Charlie is faced with some major decisions on if he should do them to fit in or to not do them and see what happens. Charlie is not very big on watching TV so he never really got the whole "say no" lecture and knowledge. So, in order to fit in, he does what his friends tell him to do and he really doesn't have an input on what he does. Peer pressure plays a big role on Charlie, he just does not really know it.
Love- There is a lot of love reference in this book, sexually and mentally. The main theme of love comes from Charlie's crush on Sam. Once Sam sets Charlie straight by telling him to move on, she helps him have a basic understanding of what love even is. This basically carries on throughout the book and Charlie gains a lot of knowledge about good love and bad love.
Conflicts-
The major conflict in this book is when Charlie realizes that he doesn't know what he is doing in life and he now doesn't have any friends because his best friend killed himself. He is in a state of confusion and depression and he needs help and he will do anything to get there. When he meets Sam and Patrick, they teach Charlie that it is okay to be different and you just have to go and learn to live with things that have already happened. They teach Charlie to be more laid back and to understand how amazing life is if you know how to live it. They teach Charlie the perks of being a wallflower. This novel mainly focuses on Charlie trying to find himself and to find who he really is. Although Charlie has been through some rough times, he figures out what is wrong and what is right. It takes Charlie a while to realize who he truly is and what he is going to do with himself because he is still in a state of shock and confusion after Michael's suicide and his realization of him not having anybody to go to. Many teenagers face this problem of not fitting in and that is why this book is so popular and touches many people and finally people know what new and different people feel when they have no one to go to and that there is always hope in finding yourself and who you truly are.
New Words:
1. Corpulent: (adj.) fat, obese
(The nice thing was my Aunt Helen was never on a diet. And my Aunt Helen was corpulent.) pg.16
2. Coax: (v.) to persuade someone to do something
(They bang on the door for a few minutes and almost coax my great aunt out.) pg. 57
3. Luminaria: (n.) christmas lanterns that are put up to celebrate the holidays
(Then we went outside to put up luminary.) pg. 80
4: Nostalgic: (n.) homesickness
(They spent the rest of the afternoon playing video games like Donkey Kong and feeling nostalgic, which as a general statement, I found sad and sweet.) pg. 81
5: Jaded: (n.) tired, bored
(The kid is "jaded") pg. 105
Symbol:
This picture that I drew relates to this novel because it shows the difference between average people and unique people. The black and white people that I drew with very plain expressions are the average people and the people that follow everyone else and they are not original people, all they do is follow. Charlie, however, the one in the middle, is going a different way then everybody else. Charlie, the unique person, has found himself and who he is because he is unique and he not only doesn't follow anyone else, he does what he wants to do and he follows his own goals. As you can see, in the picture Charlie looks very content because he has found himself and he knows who Charlie is and what Charlie is going to become. Charlie has found the perks in being a wallflower.
Similar Books:
Some books that I found that are similar to this book was To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I thought that these books were pretty similar because they both have some very different characters and they both are about life and basic ideas of what life is. What I liked about these books were that you learn that you can be happy in whatever situation you are put in if you know how to be. Another book that I thought was pretty similar was Life as We Knew It by Susan Pfeffer. I thought that these books were pretty similar because they both are epistolary novels. They also both talk about some teenage problems that many teenagers all over the world can relate to and even teenagers that never had that happen to them, they can still relate. That is why I love these types of books because you can still relate to them even though you have never been in a situation like some of these stories, but you can still relate and feel like you were there to experience it. The last book that I thought was very similar to this one was this book names Eggs by Jerry Spinelli. I think these two books relate because they both are about social interactions and about social life. There are not very many books that can relate to The Perks of Being a Wallflower because it is so different, yet so simple. I don't think there is a book out there that covers so much about teenage life and things teenagers have to go through.
Goodreads Link:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/430841990
QUARTER TWO INDEPENDENT BOOK PROJECT
First They Killed My Father- Loung Ung
Project made by Ava Dalton
Goodreads Link:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/475771238
Glogster Link:
http://www.glogster.com/avadalton/quarter-two-independent-book-project-ava-dalton/g-6l3thstf50koklgml52mha0